Amid election deniers and political polarization, it's easy to overlook the times when democracy is actually working. We do that this week in a hopeful conversation about resident-centered government. Elected officials and administrative staff like city planners often have the best intentions when it comes to development and redevelopment, but political and professional incentives push them to pursue projects that lure in outsiders rather than serving people who live in their communities.
Our guest this week is Michelle Wilde Anderson, a professor of property, local government, and environmental justice at Stanford Law School and the author of The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America. The book tells the stories of revitalization efforts in Stockton, California, Josephine, Oregon, Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Detroit, Michigan. In each instance, residents organized to fix small problems that turned into large-scale change. It's a model that anyone can replicate and our democracy will be stronger for it.
The Fight to Save the Town by Michelle Wilde Anderson
The second annual Democracy Works listener mailbag
How to end democracy’s doom loop
The clumsy journey to antiracism
Civil rights, civil unrest
Aaron Maybin on doing the hard work of democracy [rebroadcast]
Free speech from the Founding Fathers to Twitter
Bonus: Mayors and bipartisanship during COVID-19
The people vs. the experts — and those caught in the middle
China’s role in the COVID-19 infodemic
A roadmap to a more equitable democracy
Trust, facts, and democracy in a polarized world
Bonus: Civic engagement, social distancing, and democracy reform
Give me liberty or give me COVID-19?
Bonus: COVID-19 and Democracy with The Democracy Group
Federalism in uncertain times
Will COVID-19 create a one-issue campaign?
Public health depends on the Census
Free and fair elections during a pandemic
COVID-19 exposes democracy’s tensions
Populism is not a monolith
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